Pat Boone

Pat Boone, in full Charles Eugene Boone, (born June 1, 1934, Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.), American singer and television personality known for his wholesome pop hits in the 1950s and for hosting evangelical radio and television programs later in life.

Boone began performing in public at a young age. After winning a local talent show in the early 1950s, he appeared on television variety shows—first Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour and then Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts. He released “Two Hearts, Two Kisses,” the first of his singles on the Dot Records label, in 1955. That same year Dot released “Ain’t That a Shame,” Boone’s cover of an R&B song originally recorded by Fats Domino. Other hits followed, many of which were first recorded by African American artists, including Little Richard, Ivory Joe Hunter, and Big Joe Turner. Among these were “Long Tall Sally” (1956) and “Tutti Frutti” (1956). When Boone graduated from Columbia University in 1958 with a degree in speech and English, he appeared on the cover of TV Guide in his cap and gown.

From 1957 to 1960, Boone hosted the weekly television variety program The Pat Boone–Chevy Showroom. He appeared in several popular films, including April Love (1957), the science-fiction movieJourney to the Center of the Earth (1959), and the musical State Fair (1962), in which he starred with fellow teen idols Bobby Darin and Ann-Margret.

Boone’s popularity as a pop artist began to wane in the early 1960s when the British Invasion made his soft version of rock music unpopular with young audiences; his last major hit was “Speedy Gonzales,” released in 1962. He returned to hosting variety television with several short-lived shows in the late 1960s, including The Pat Boone Show and Pat Boone in Hollywood. An autobiography, A New Song, was published in 1970. Boone’s albums Pat Boone Sings the New Songs of the Jesus People (1972) and The Pat Boone Gospel Collection (1978) were among those that signaled his transition away from pop and toward gospel music in the 1970s. He also tried his hand at country music with the albums Texas Woman (1976) and The Country Side of Pat Boone (1977).

Starting in the 1980s, Boone hosted radio programs (e.g., The Pat Boone Show) and television programs, including Pat Boone USA, which appeared on a Christian cable network. The programs featured a blend of contemporary Christian music and talk. Boone shocked and amused religious and secular audiences alike with an uncharacteristic heavy metal album, In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, released in 1997 and promoted with an appearance on the American Music Awards in which he appeared dressed in a leather vest with no shirt and fake tattoos, alongside rocker Alice Cooper.

In the early 2000s Boone formed his own record label, The Gold Label, representing artists such as the Ventures and Sha Na Na. He also released his own music on the label, including the patriotic American Glory (2002) and an album of love songs, Near (2011). He later issued Legacy (2014), a collection of original religious songs.